First the bill that would have created the Bulacan economic zone was vetoed Friday. Then on Sunday, President Marcos Jr. expresses openness to having a new bill to correct the flaws.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reaped praises for vetoing the Bulacan Freeport Zone that grants special tax perks to the economic zone. Three days later, he flip flops and says he is open to a new bill creating a proposed Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport (BACSEZF).
Such is the impact of big business on his policy directions—change it soon after he has thumbed down such privileges.
Last Friday in vetoing the economic zone (under House Bill 7575) Marcos cited “defects,” the most serious of which were “fiscal risks” from foregone revenues.
But on Sunday, in a statement read by spokesman Communications Secretary Rose Beatrix “Trixie” Cruz-Angeles said the legislation would have faced constitutional challenges had it passed into law in its current state.
“Had the President not vetoed HB 7575, it would have lapsed into law on July 4 (today) or 30 days after the bill was sent by the legislature to Malacañang,” Angeles said.
“Presidential veto is the fastest way to cure the defects of HB 7575, especially the provision” which exempts financial transactions of the special economic zone and freeport from scrutiny by the Commission on Audit, she added.
Aside from its lack of audit provisions, Marcos also flagged the bill for having no procedures for the expropriation of lands awarded to agrarian reform beneficiaries, lack of a master plan for the specific metes and bounds of the economic zone, and for giving “blanket powers” to the BACSEZF authority for managing its technical airport operations.
He also noted the BACSEZF was near the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga province (province of his principal supporter, President Arroyo who was among those that ensured its completion) thus violating the government policy of building such economic zones in “strategic locations.”
Angeles said Marcos “fully supports” the creation of the BACSEZF if Congress could come out with a law which will address his concerns.
The immediate past Senate President Vicente Sotto III, told Business Mirror he advised advocates of the special zone to re-file a revised version in the 19th Congress, after addressing the key concerns embodied in the veto message.
The BACSEZF would have been built near the P740-billion international airport in Bulacan, which is being constructed by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Angeles clarified that the veto of the HB 7575 does not affect the construction of the SMC airport.
“The construction of the Bulacan international airport and aero city is not affected by the veto,” she said.
He noted that no less than the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) and the Regional Development Council III called for more studies on the feasibility of the said economic zone.
“As the system would be rendered incapable of generating a yield sufficient to sustain the country’s social and economic infrastructure, the government would be forced to seek new resources of revenue through additional taxes or borrowings in the future. In the end, it is the taxpayers who will ultimately bear the brunt of the burden,” Marcos said.
Sotto said that the aerocity special economic zone bill was passed by the 18th Senate in its last week before adjourning sine die on June 1, and the enrolled bill was sent to Malacanang “27 or 28 days ago,” which he said would make the bill lapse into law “by July 3.”
While a presidential veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate, Sotto said, “in my opinion, [Congress] cannot override [this one].” For one, such vote is hard to muster, Sotto noted. More important, he stressed, the veto attempt will be hounded by legalities.
“There is a technicality because the bill was approved by the 18th Congress, so the 19th Congress [which convenes on July 25] cannot override the veto.”
In his veto message, Marcos noted that the bill is no longer necessary since Republic Act (RA) 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE law).
He noted that no less than the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) and the Regional Development Council III called for more studies on the feasibility of the said economic zone.
“As the system would be rendered incapable of generating a yield sufficient to sustain the country’s social and economic infrastructure, the Government would be forced to seek new resources of revenue through additional taxes or borrowings in the future. In the end, it is the taxpayers who will ultimately bear the brunt of the burden,” Marcos said.
Salceda to refile bill
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda on Monday plans to revive a House measure creating the Bulacan airport ecozone, with an aim at “curing all the defects” raised by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. when the latter vetoed the measure.
He told ANC that there were two bills that pertained to the measure, and that he planned to refile the one that did not make the cut as a law.
“There are two bills — one bill which is now a law, which is the legislative franchise for the airport, and the other one is the bill that was vetoed, and which I intend to refile but curing all the defects cited by the President,” he said.
Salceda said that in refiling the bill, he would make sure the letter of the legislative measure would be much clearer.
“I think essentially they want it to be clearer, especially with the other laws that we passed,” he said.
Salceda said that under the revised bill, the ecozone will be subjected to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
“Ang proposal din, the power of the ecozone authority to grant incentive, kailangan manggaling po sa Fiscal Incentives Review Board,” he added.
He also cited the need to provide “conventional checks and balances” under the refiled measure.
Under the vetoed bill, the ecozone authority is given an “excessive” power to “amend its own IRR (implementing rules and regulations),” according to Salceda.
“We need to put some limits and checks and balances to it,” he said.
Further, the vetoed bill has no “provision for audit with the Commission on Audit,” he added.
“So we will put all these conventional checks and balances,” he added.
Revenue losses
In his veto message, Marcos said that the bill “will significantly narrow our tax base with its mandated incentives applicable to registered entities.”
But Salceda said that potential revenue losses are “notional.”
“Kung wala naman mag-invest doon then wala namang incentives that will be lost. So in fact, it is the incentives that will create the investment, we will just need to assure that these are not redundant that is why making the powers of the authority by creating that authority over the ecozone making it compliant with the FIRB or compliant with CREATE, we essentially try to balance yung [the] loss of tax revenues,” he said.
On incentives, “it is a way of incentivizing public-private partnership…ang importante lang po is yung checks and balances at saka po yung limitations are also there just to ensure na walang excesses and to ensure that the project promotes public welfare,” he added.
Tags: #MarcosJr., #Bulacanecozone, #flipflopping, #refilebill, #correctflaws